New Drivers Please Reply

Kevin,

I attended truck driving school this past December, after the recent economic downturn pretty much ruined my residential remodeling business. I graduated the first week of January and by the end of January was in orientation with my carrier of choice. I have since finished training and have now been on the road for nearly 3 weeks as a solo driver.

I secured pre-hires from several companies while I was in school and most offers were in the .28cpm-.34cpm range. The company that I chose was within that range and I am currently running more miles than I care to. Most of our drivers run from 2,000 - 2,500 miles per week. After 'scaling back', I hope to fall in the 2,500 - 2,800 mile per week range.

Currently, I am staying out from between 2 - 2 1/2 weeks and then home for 2-3 days. My company, however, only requires that we be out for 7 days before requesting home time, but I choose to stay out longer in order to get more miles and then take more than a day or day and a half at home when I do get home.

The company that I work for offers a monthly bonus for drivers running 10,000 + miles per month and that bonus can be increased according to fuel consumption and some other factors.

Overall, trucking is a very different lifestyle than anything I've done previously. What has helped me make that transition, however, is all the information that I got and answers that I received through forums like this. I'm making the adjustment and I can't say that I was ever mislead by anyone in school or any recruiter. I have, for the most part, encountered what I expected to encounter. I have been pleasantly surprised, however, by the caliber of people in the industry and by those willing to help out a newbie.

Good luck with your decision.
IronRydr

 

Not a NEWBEE but here is some insight on what to expect.. AND TO DO...

TO DO..

1. Apply to all the companies that you can, I would stay in the box freight end of the business like VAN, REFFER, You can go speclized latter on after you get some miles like maybe 1 year or so then explore.
2. Dont wait start filling out applications now even before school starts
3. Find out how long the school is.
4. I normally would not reccomend this step but in these uncertain times you may want to consider this. Go with a carrier that has a BUILT IN SCHOOL reason is that they have a VESTED intrest in you and they will give you a job in these times over an outside school.

A few carriers to look at

• SWIFT
• CRE (CR ENGLAND)
• SCHNEIDER NATIONAL

WHAT TO EXPECT IN YEAR ONE

1. SCHOOL
2. about 6 mths with a trainer at about $200-400 per week GROSS
3. On your own
4. Make about $600-800 per week starting at the bottom depending on area running and how much home time you want you can make more or less depending on that factor

Good luck to you....

 

Yeah , they have a vested interest all right . If you fail to fulfill your employment obligation due to circumstances beyond your control (accident , health problems , etc. ) you will owe them thousands after you leave . They have incentive to hire you but no real incentive to keep you employed .

 

just finished Swift's training course in Tenn and completed their 5 day road course in 3 weeks ... tested and got my Class A the other day ... I am scheduled for orientation on March 9th.

with that said, training was good but it was clear there were not enough instructors. A lot of students failed to pass the basic requirements and had to stay over another week ... that put more pressure on instructors to teach a larger group.

I watched one guy fail his CDL 3 times ... Swift gave him access to a truck twice for free and then gave him another shot when a slot opened up (he got lucky) ... but now he has to pay a third party $375 to rent a truck for a shot at his fourth CDL road test. Nice guy that frooze when he was tested.

I liked the instructors but the student ratio and time frame needs adjustment ... only the cream will get their CDL in 3 weeks ... if you plan on training with Swift expect one additional week of training, half the class need 4 weeks to pass.

 

If you have the money or can get funding, you could go to a non-company sponsored school. That way after you get your cdl, you have some control over where you want to work and you're not on the hook for 6 grand to a company. For me it was the satisfaction of getting my cdl without being indebted to some company. It was also a sense of accomplishment on my part. If you don't have the money, then take a chance with a company sponsored school. Good luck!

 

I just graduated from a Truck Driving school last month. Now I just need to get my act together and get my CDL class A. I leave for orientation on the 22 of this month. The best I can tell you, Kevin_Mc is to research all the companies that you are considering. Talk to you instructors and see companies they recommend. Pay attention to the trucks you see on the raod, jot down the 1-800 number, and call that company. I wish you the best of luck.

 

I agree with RickG completely. If you don't fulfill your part of the hire agreement, YOU owe them and YOU get nothing. Go to a recognized Truck Driver Training school. The one I went through is part of a Technical College.

 

Go and get you license on your own. Then you have more flexability in what you can do. I got my cdl in 11/08. It took 2 months to find a job. It is really tight right now, not alot of people want to hire a recent grad. with so many experienced guys looking for work but I think it is better than getting with a trainer company and then not getting miles because of no frieght. I got picked up by Sygma. I had apps. in with schneider, us xpress, roehl and about 20 other companies. Sygma is the only one who even called back. That's ok cause i really didn't want to go otr anyway. Worse case scenario you could pick up the passenger endorsment and drive a school bus until work picks up. Good luck...

 

Rick

My point was this

And I stated I normally would not reccomend it but... May have miss worded my thoughts here's what I ment

If you have the money (cash) or if your putting it on a card or have secured funding of a sort ...
Why not use the companies funds upfront (loan) save your funds and if it don't work out pay it off as you would have to start.
In these times not normally but in this economy I just think it is a safer bet to take company school over outside

Reason is the company is going to hire grads from their internal school for they have upfront funds vested in them (loan)
A grad is a grad but why not secure yourself a job in the short term , over taking a prehire chance.

As I have read the board the prehires in some cases are not panning out. Companies have pick of the litter right now... It's not a drivers market .. Companies are in the driver seat. By going to a company school you get a better shot right now at a job...

The best companies ? No
But a start ...

If this was 2 years ago I would have never suggested this but it's not drastic times ...

I think it's sound advise in this economy..

That's what I meant

No qual...

Ky24